It's Been Awhile...

Where do I begin? It’s been SO LONG since I have updated our blog. The end of the school year is so amazingly busy but also exciting for all. The end of the school year means the start of summer vacation!

It’s not exactly vacation when you think of all the baseball and softball games/practices, softball tournaments, dog project agility and obedience classes, swimming lessons, speed and agility training, soccer games, soccer camp, basketball camp, summer school, family reunion, library visits,  lawn mowing, weed pulling, paddock cleaning, dog walking, house cleaning, laundry, laundry, and laundry! And you can’t forget all the MILES of driving I do, getting the kids to all of their activities. It’s now the end of the first two weeks of vacation, and I have been averaging filling up my gas tank every 2 and a half days. UGH! That’s almost $90 every time!

So, what’s been going on? Noah turned 11 years old on May 17^th! Wow, I can’t believe he’s SO OLD!! He’s grown so tall and is SO SKINNY! The girls and I are so jealous because the boy can eat anything and everything, and you still can see everyone one of his ribs! He also graduated from 5^th grade and next school year he will be at the middle school. Again, WOW, where did the time go?! Noah got a new bike, clothes, money, and gift cards. WAY TOO MUCH stuff!

Cassie celebrated her SWEET 16^th BIRTHDAY on June 6^th! Yes, she’s old enough to drive a car. She goes for her driver’s test on Friday, June 28^th and is pretty excited and nervous, all rolled into one. We celebrated at the Finn & Feather in Winneconne for a Sunday morning brunch. She received clothes, money, gift cards, purse, and a VERY EXPENSIVE softball bat!

Brad and I celebrated our 18^th wedding anniversary on June 5^th. We didn’t actually do anything special, because we were celebrating Cassie’s birthday. L Brad and I have been together for 21 years. We now have 4 kids (pretty soon that will be 5), dogs, cats, birds, a turtle, fish, horses, alpacas, and goats. We have pretty great jobs, are in good health, and still have a lot of fun together. I can’t imagine my life without Brad by my side. I always told people that I married my best friend and I still feel that way 100%.  I LOVE YOU BRAD!!!

We’ve also started our summer vacation with lots of baseball and softball games. Four kids and five teams: 3 traveling teams + 2 in-city league teams = LOTS OF BLEACHER TIME

Cassie is also doing dog project practices to compete at the County Fair at the end of August. It will become a lot easier when Cassie starts driving herself to all of these practice nights. Cassie & Jordan also were gone this past week for 3 and a half days to Madison for the State FFA Convention. It is amazing how quiet the house becomes when you take two teenage girls out of the equation! I LOVE THEM DEARLY, but it is amazing how EASY the two boys are without the girls around. They eat anything and go with the flow. NO FIGHTING!

Muluken is playing Little League on Monday evenings, soccer on Saturday mornings, and is now the youngest player on the AAA Baseball Traveling team with Noah. Muluken also went to a soccer camp at St. Mary High School in Neenah this past week and loved it. Again, he was the youngest one at camp but the coach said he had no problem keeping up with the older kids. WAY TO GO MULUKEN!

On June 12^th, we celebrated my Mom’s birthday! We had a surprise party (at her house) with a fish fry and more! All four of us kids were there with our families; Uncle Dave and Uncle Pat were there with their families, and Dorinda. It was a perfect day and Mom looked so happy and relaxed! It was great celebrating with Mom and letting her know how special she is to all of us! I LOVE YOU MOM!

Also, the BIG NEWS…we’re going to AFRICA in July! Yes, we received our court for July 13^th. Brad and I will fly out on Friday, July 8^th and return home on July 14^th. We will get to spend a few days with Tinsae before going to court. We will also do some sightseeing and shopping. I’m so EXCITED that we are FINALLY going to meet our little boy! Here we come Tinsae!

So, I’m going to end this post with lots of pictures! Enjoy!!